An Incredible Journey
During the Beijing summer, people used to see and hear flocks of Beijing swifts circling around the city’s historical places such as the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven.
The Beijing swift is a typical cavity-nesting bird that often nests inside the holes and crevices in old constructions
The bird, a subspecies of the common swift, named after the city of Beijing, was first recorded in China’s capital by British naturalist Robert Swinhoe back in 1870.
Every spring, the swifts return to Beijing to breed, and then, at the beginning of every autumn, they head down south to their wintering grounds once again.
Tagging the bird
Where do these migratory birds come from and where do they go for winter? These questions had puzzled bird lovers and researchers alike, until answers came trickling in recently.
The Beijing Bird Watching Society, now known
